Braver

by Suzanne Selfors

“Then we have something in common,” Melvin said, “for I, too, am considered an oddity.”

  “Indeed.” The towel remained over his face, so his voice was slightly muffled as Lola crept past. “I would guess that due to your grooming habits you faced ridicule. Humiliation. Isolation?”

  “Er, yes, at times.” Melvin, taken aback, continued to file the nails. “How about you, sir?”

  “It was challenging to be the only one who could not play outside in the sun, and even had to be careful with the full moon. Those who embraced the old ways considered me to be weak and unworthy of survival. I was often the target of their frustrations. But Rake, daughter of Rake, befriended me and kept me safe.”

  “And so you followed her here?” Melvin asked.

  “Yes. I do what she asks. And when she stole the design for the train—”

  “Stole?” Melvin asked. Lola froze, trying to remember. Her uncle had said that the overseer designed the train. But stealing the design did seem more fitting.

  “Did I say stole?” Taskmaster Lash shifted his weight in the chair. Then he cleared his throat. “I owe my life to Overseer Rake. If she had not befriended me in my youth, I would not be here today. All I want is to be useful to her, you know?”

  Lola was struck by this sad story. On the two occasions when she’d seen the overseer and the taskmaster together, she’d noticed that the overseer didn’t treat the taskmaster kindly. That she ordered him around and was short-tempered with him. But now Lola understood the relationship. The taskmaster was being loyal to someone who had helped him, no matter what the cost.

  Lola began moving again, this time far more carefully, toward the grandfather clock. Her paws shook slightly and her nose twitched. When she finally reached it, she scooted as close as possible. Then she looked over her shoulder. Melvin had changed the subject and was talking about his products and keeping his eye on Lola’s progress at the same time. Lola settled onto her rump, then reached for the clock’s doors. Why had the doors not been bolted or chained shut? Either Tobias had been overly confident in his supreme power or …

  The queen was no longer inside.

  Ever so slowly Lola opened them, trying to keep the scraping of wood on wood as quiet as possible.

  Finally, the doors were fully open.

  She held back a gasp.

  28

  THE TINIEST QUEEN

  Queen Myra, the queen of Tassie Island, sat inside the clock’s belly, a piece of fabric tied over her minuscule mouth. Her tiny wrists and feet were tied together by a piece of twine. She was the smallest mammal Lola had ever seen, about the size of a plum. Her fur was brown and the tip of her nose was bright red. Her round ears looked a bit too big for her little pointed face, as did her round eyes that blinked as light filtered in.

  Lola wanted to cry. With relief. With joy. With sadness at seeing such a tiny critter in such a state. Her fur was matted and dirty, probably from weeks of being carted around to various dusty and cramped places. Lola wanted to tell the queen that things were going to be okay. That she’d come to rescue her. But she couldn’t risk words.

  Reaching in, Lola carefully began to undo the bindings. Some comforts had been provided for the queen—a silk pillow, a wool blanket. Delicately using one of her digging claws, Lola cut through the gag around the queen’s mouth. Queen Myra inhaled deeply and appeared on the verge of coughing, but Lola held a claw up to her lips in warning. The queen gave a nod of understanding, for the taskmaster’s voice could be heard as he complained about all the work he had to do in order to help the overseer take over the kingdom.

  Lola held out her paw. The queen took a moment to stretch her little limbs. She brushed some dust from her golden gown. Then, displaying surprising dexterity for someone who appeared so delicate, she scrambled up Lola’s arm and sat on her shoulder, taking stock of the room. Melvin, who’d been clipping hair around the taskmaster’s ears, stopped and gawked. Then, ever so slightly, he dipped his head in a bow. The queen bowed in return.

  “How much longer must this towel remain on my face?” the taskmaster asked.

  Melvin lifted an edge. “Your eyes are still puffy, I’m afraid. I suggest we leave it a bit longer. But only if you want to look presentable.”

  “Of course I want to look presentable!”

  With the queen balanced on her shoulder, Lola began to retrace her steps. Several times she had to shuffle to one side or the other to avoid objects. Melvin, for his part, dutifully took care of the taskmaster, clipping around his ears to help obscure Lola’s soft, padding pawsteps and the creak of the door. Before she made it to the hallway, she turned to look at Melvin. He bowed to the queen once more, then waved at Lola to go on. He would keep the taskmaster occupied. “Good luck,” he mouthed. Lola hurried down the red carpet. It wasn’t until they had turned many corners and passed down many hallways that Lola whispered, “Your Majesty, are you okay?”

  The queen spoke. “What is your name, my dear?” Her voice was high and chirpy. It tickled Lola’s ear but still managed to sound regal. If this hadn’t been such a serious moment, Lola might have giggled.

  Lola stopped walking. “I’m Lola Budge. My uncles, Teddy and Tobias, work for you.” Queen Myra crawled down Lola’s arm and stood in her paw.

  “You are Teddy and Tobias’s niece?” she asked.

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  Her expression hardened. “Which of your uncles do you take after?”

  “I am unshy like Uncle Tobias,” Lola said honestly. “But I’m loyal to the crown like Uncle Teddy.” Lola held her gaze steady as the queen looked her over. Then she waited, breath held, for the queen’s reaction.

  “We believe you,” Queen Myra said. Her gaze softened again. Her red nose reminded Lola of a tiny berry. “And We are grateful to you for Our rescue. Tobias has been moving Us from one pocket to the other, from drawers to shoeboxes. It has been quite the ordeal and often rather smelly.”

  “Melvin helped, too. With your rescue. He was very excited to meet you.”

  “Ah, yes, the swamp water rat. He seems very clever.” Her long whiskers bristled. “But now that We are rescued, We hope you have a plan.”

  It was going to take a bit of time for Lola to get used to the odd way the queen spoke. “Yes, Your Majesty, we have a plan.” Lola told the queen about Snarl, the rats, and the royal kitchen with all the food for Tobias’s birthday celebration.

  “We are acquainted with Snarl, son of Snarl. But where is Teddy?”

  “He’s being held in the tower with the other members of the Resistance,” Lola told her. “As are Tobias and most of the palace workers.”

  “Tobias? In the tower?”

  “The overseer turned against him.”

  “Of course she did. Tobias should have seen this coming, but greed muddled his brain.” The queen unfurled her long swirling tail. “So, all that is left of Our loyalists is a wombat joey, a well-groomed swamp water rat, and a young warrior of peace?”

  “Yes,” Lola said. “And a one-winged firehawk and a baby penguin.” She could practically hear Blue correcting her.

  To her surprise, Queen Myra smiled. “Sounds like the makings of a most entertaining story indeed. Shall We be about it then?”

  Lola set the queen back on her shoulder, then hurried down the hallway. She told the queen that Snarl was going to meet them outside. The plan was to take the queen to the factory so she could free her workers. Then the citizens of Dore would chase the rebels from the city and free the prisoners in the tower. It was starting to sound as if it might actually work. The courtyard was within reach.

  The pounding of many paws on stonework sent a rumbling echo through the palace halls. Lola jumped out of the way as dozens of rats, white, brown, and gray, rushed passed them. “To the royal kitchen!” they cheered, drool dripping from their mouths. “The queen is giving us all the food we want!” Bogart and Blue had been successful in spreading the word. As they ran past, not a single rat noticed their tiny queen, for they
had one thing on their minds.

  “Your Majesty, the rats will soon be on your side,” Lola said.

  “Then your plan is working. Onward to the factory,” Queen Myra ordered. “We must set Our critters free! We know they’ll join us right away.”

  Lola galloped out a side door and onto the palace grounds. But just as her paws touched down, she skidded to a stop. Where was Snarl? She sniffed the air for him but found not a trace. Morning had come, with tinges of orange and red filtering through the smoggy air as factory number one continued to spew. The street beyond the courtyard was lined with little houses, but the doors were barred shut and no candlelight flickered through the shuttered windows.

  “What has happened to Our beautiful city?” the queen asked, her round eyes filling with tears. “This is Our fault. The train was supposed to be a lovely way to connect the farthest corners of Tassie Island.” She coughed, a delicate sound.

  “The train could still connect us, Your Majesty.” Lola couldn’t believe that she was consoling the queen of Tassie Island. “As long as it’s not controlled by the wrong critters.”

  “We should have been wary of Tobias when he began to collect things. When he began to demand more gold coin. We knew the truth, but We didn’t recognize his greed for the draconian avarice it had become. While We were stowed away in Tobias’s office, We overheard many of his conversations. He should not have trusted Overseer Rake.”

  “Uncle Tobias has made terrible mistakes,” Lola said. As angry as she was with her uncle, she realized that she was about to defend him. “But he didn’t know that the overseerer wanted to use the train for hunting.”

  “I know that, my dear. Your uncle might be greedy and shallow, but he is not a monster.” She reached out her tiny arm and patted Lola’s cheek. It was such a delicate sensation, like a kiss from a butterfly.

  At that moment, it was hard for Lola to imagine that she could ever forgive her uncle for what he’d helped do to her family. But she was grateful for the queen’s kind words. “The train will be a good thing,” Lola said. “As long as it’s not being used to take food from the Farmlands. Or for hunting.”

  “Quite right. We must get control of it again.”

  To Lola’s despair, there was still no sign of Snarl. What was he doing? It wouldn’t take long for word to reach the overseer that the Royal Guard had turned against her. Then she and her rebels would leave the tower.

  “Hang tight, Your Majesty,” Lola said. As the tiny queen gripped Lola’s fur, Lola increased her speed, barreling down the empty streets toward the factory. She skidded to a stop before the factory doors. To her surprise, the doors were not barred shut, which meant that the workers could leave at any time. Why didn’t they? And then she saw the proclamation, nailed to the door and taped to all the windows.

  BY ORDERS OF HER MAJESTY, QUEEN MYRA,

  ALL CITIZENS OF DORE ARE TO REPORT TO FACTORY #1

  TO WORK WITHOUT UNNECESSARY CESSATION UNTIL THE ROYAL TRAIN TRACK IS COMPLETED.

  They did not leave because they were loyal to their queen. The overseer used their loyalty to her advantage.

  “This is forged,” the queen said with anger and despair.

  “I know.”

  “We must tell them the truth. Please take Us inside.”

  A blast of hot air shot out as Lola opened the door. She flinched, feeling as if she were standing too close to an open flame. The queen turned away, pressing her face against Lola’s neck. With trepidation, Lola stepped inside.

  The fire was the first thing she saw, with its bloodred flames that were large enough to engulf a tree. Large enough to engulf a forest. To burn greatly. Lola’s ears tried to curl in on themselves as overwhelming heat washed over her. She blinked her eyes quickly, for the smoke stung. Workers, dressed in their grimy aprons, with faces and fur covered in soot, shuffled about, their shoulders hunched, backs stooped. Many looked as if they hadn’t slept in days. Others looked as thin as if they’d gone without food. It was noisy in there, as workers banged hammers against metal. As more coal was dumped into the furnace. Queen Myra stood on Lola’s shoulder. “Attention!” she hollered in her high-pitched voice. No heads turned. “Attention!”

  Lola put her paws around her mouth and hollered, “Hallooo!” But the critters continued to move sluggishly as they went about their work.

  “Your Majesty, I think I know how to get their attention.” Lola set the queen on a table. “I’ll be right back.” Then she moved toward the massive central furnace.

  Two quolls were taking turns jumping up and down on a large bellows that fed air through a pipe into the glowing furnace. A single lever stuck out of the pipe. Despite her rising fear, Lola knew what she had to do. Ignoring the heavy smoke and raging heat, she pushed her weight against the lever. With a shuddering clang, it gave way. The air duct was sealed tight.

  The fire began to dim. The flames flickered, gasping for life, then died. The factory interior would have darkened completely, but the open factory door allowed morning light to filter in.

  Hammers slowed. Everyone paused in their work and looked over at Lola with a mixture of confusion and apprehension.

  “What happened to the fire?”

  “Oh dear, oh dear, we are under orders to work.”

  “If we don’t work, we’ll be thrown in the tower, we will.”

  Now was the time. Lola scooped the queen into her paw, then clambered atop a crate, standing high enough for all to see. “Your Majesty, they can hear you now,” she said, then she placed the queen back on her shoulder. Silence fell over the factory. The critters gaped at the sight of their tiny ruler. But no one bowed. Instead, expressions changed from bewilderment to anger, and even disgust.

  “My loyal subjects,” Queen Myra said. “We are here because you have suffered a terrible wrong.”

  “Aye we have!”

  “A wrong done by you!”

  “Down with the queen!” The critters became agitated as “Down with the queen” rolled across the factory floor, repeated over and over.

  “Please listen,” Lola said, raising her paws to get their attention. “Her Majesty needs your help.”

  “Why should we help her? She’s kept us from our homes, she has.”

  “She forced us to work here, she did.”

  “Down with Queen Myra!”

  Lola could feel the queen shrink. “We have lost them. They hate Us,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “We have failed to protect Our critters.”

  Lola couldn’t bear to see the queen looking so defeated, especially not after all she’d been through. “Please listen,” she pleaded to the crowd. She did her best to be heard, despite the continuous grumbling. “I was just like you. I thought the queen had turned against us.”

  “She did!”

  “She doesn’t love us!”

  The queen broke into sobs and pressed her face against Lola’s neck.

  “She does love you. Please listen,” Lola pleaded again. But they wouldn’t. Some turned their backs, while others glared. “This wasn’t the queen’s fault. My uncle, Tobias Bottom, betrayed her. He allowed the Tassie devils to leave Mount Ossa because he thought they would work for him. He thought they’d bring him gold. So he captured our queen and hid her away these long months.”

  A few stopped grumbling. A few turned to listen. The queen wiped her tears and whispered in Lola’s ear, “You’ve got their attention. Go on, tell them the truth.”

  Lola nodded. “The truth is, Queen Myra has been imprisoned by Tobias. That’s why you haven’t seen her. The proclamation nailed to the front door of this factory was forged. The overseer is the one who has forced you to work here. She is the leader of a group of rebels who want to live like they used to live, long ago. As hunters.”

  The crowd gasped in unison. From her perch on Lola’s shoulder, the queen nodded, urging Lola to continue. Her own tears, even in the heat of the furnace, were still slow to dry.

  A young mouse stood at the front o
f the crowd, twisting his tail in a fretful way. “Do not worry,” Lola said. “Queen Myra would never allow hunting. And most of those who live on Mount Ossa don’t want to hunt, either. They want to live peacefully with us. The train was supposed to connect the island, but the overseer stole the designs and used them to gain favor with my uncle.”

  A trembling echidna stepped forward. “Oh dear, oh dear, if Tobias is your uncle, then how can we trust what you say?”

  “Because my family was also imprisoned. And forced to dig coal. I came to Dore to get help from Uncle Tobias, but now I know the truth. That my uncle wanted to use the train to grow wealthy and to become the next king. And he was willing to send Queen Myra into exile, or imprison her. The queen is innocent but she needs your help. We must work together to rid our city of the rebels. And we must reestablish the old Royal Guard, if we’re to prevent this from ever happening again.”

  “But what can we do?” a white mouse asked. “We’re too small, we are, too weak and tired. We can’t defeat such monsters.”

  Silence fell again, the critters looking at Lola, not at the queen, their soot-covered faces waiting for an answer. Waiting for a direction. Lola reached toward her back, but stopped when she remembered her book was not there. She closed her eyes and breathed, ignoring the acrid taste of smoke. She breathed evenly and deeply before confidently looking out over the crowd. Lola spoke the words that came naturally to her, as carving came naturally to her parents. “Gather ye round and prick your ears, for a tale is about to be told.”

  This was not a story to lull them to sleep. Not a story to entertain. Lola needed to stir them, to ignite their feelings of injustice, to bring about action. She raised her voice and spoke the opening lines from a story they would all know.

  “In the time before Dore, when critters lived for themselves and distrusted all others, invaders sailed across the sea and landed on our shores. Then they roamed the island, taking what they pleased. Only those who could take to the sky or dive beneath the waves were safe. It was a terrible time, dark and desperate. Until came TheoDore the Small.”